


To be a Prince and a Pilot

by avagueidea



Series: Making Slav Proud: A Series of AUs [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura and Lance are Royal Siblings, Altean Lance (Voltron), Gen, I swear I'm not JUST writing this to get to write the tragic backstory parts, Making Slav Proud, Prince Lance (Voltron), one of many aus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avagueidea/pseuds/avagueidea
Summary: The last memories Lance had before he was put to sleep were of flashing lights and fear. Now, he has to figure out where Blue took him, how he can get back to his sister and father, and who these aliens with the horrendous ears are!Hunk and Pidge find themselves teaming back up with the once revered Keith Kogane on a much more serious mission than the simulator every sent them on.Part of my project toMake Slav Proudwith a bunch of AUs.





	1. How We Got Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Hunk remembers his brief stint at the top of the class, and then gets dragged into a lot of nonsense._

        Everything was burning. Flashing lights and explosions and screaming pleas still echoed in his mind even as the screens cut off around him. Now the shouts were just his own, but they were fading. He didn’t listen to the deep even voice that picked up over the com channel. He didn’t want to listen. Lance wanted to keep his eyes open. He knew that the chamber had sealed off, though, and Blue was putting him to sleep, like one of the healing pods. The flashes faded behind his increasingly heavy eyelids. He wanted to scream, but his breath was so shallow. His brain fought as he was put to sleep. He had to stay awake. He had to get Blue to understand! Blue _had_ to understand that this wasn’t right. That _he_ was right.

        She didn’t.

        The last thing Lance felt was the queasy stretching of himself across an unfathomable distance in a blink of an eye. He couldn’t force his eyes back open on the other side. The coms were silent and he was silent, barely breathing any longer…

 

~*~*~

 

        Keith Kogane was a beast. His simulator scores were unprecedented, his reaction time was unreal, and Hunk was at least 85% sure he slept with a knife under his pillow. The cadets hated Keith. The teachers loved him. He ‘yessir’ed with the best of them, and his teams always finished first, if with a few scrapes and bruises to go with success.

        This was why Hunk was currently being mercilessly dragged to the top of the class. Other students spoke about him in awed whispers, but not a single one wanted to be on his team. Not even for the guaranteed success that came with everything he did. He was too intense for the average 17 year old who was just excited about space. So, he’d been dumped his senior year and the only replacement team available was Hunk and a freshman called Pidge Gunderson.

        Hunk got good grades. No one thought he did, but that was just because the only thing any of the students gave a shit about was watching the simulator runs. They _lived_ for criticizing other students on the simulator. Those scores were the only thing they posted publicly, so it was the only thing they thought mattered. Most of the teachers just reinforced the mentality. So, pukes-on-the-spinning-tea-cups Hunk was passed over. That was fine by him. All he wanted to do was graduate with a 3.9 GPA and get into a good school for engineering. He’d make the space ships from the ground, thank you very much.

        Pidge, well, Pidge was a freshman. He’d tested like a freak to get placed directly into the Piloting Program, Hunk was sure. He was always working on something and hiding away somewhere. Hunk couldn’t get a good beat on him. He had some interesting stuff going on in his rooms, but whenever he tried to check out his tech, he got his hand smacked. It was obnoxious, but it wasn’t like they were trying to ‘bond as a team’ or anything, so Hunk just ignored him, like Keith ignored the both of them the second they stepped out of the simulator.

        Keith hadn’t berated him for puking like everyone else did. The first time he was clearly too startled to yell at Hunk, when he took a spiral down into a crevice on a fake asteroid and lost visuals because of the puke splattered across the screen. To his credit, he still landed. The guy was insane. Even when they got out of the simulator he didn’t yell at Hunk, though he didn’t say anything at all. After that, he’d managed to fly them so Hunk’s puke would be mostly flung onto himself, or at least not forward onto the front view screens.

        That being said, Keith flew so smoothly Hunk found himself puking less over all. Well, unless Keith pulled one of his stunts. It was the only thing the teachers ever criticized him for. He nodded, and ‘yessir’ed, and Hunk could see him not caring, because he never crashed. Threats were useless on someone as absurdly talented as Keith. He never saw the consequences. He never crashed and he never was going to get kicked out of school.

        That was, he was never going to get kicked out of school until the day he did.

        It wasn’t over a stunt, in the end. He’d supposedly threatened a teacher. Hunk knew that Keith could get worked up sometimes, but threatening a teacher seemed crazy even for him. He was a nice guy under all that intensity. Hunk wasn’t surprised at the same time. The few months they had together, Keith went from ‘really intense’ to sort of unhinged. Whenever Pidge freaked out about that Kerberos Mission, the one where the ship had exploded, Keith went a little crazy eyed. He didn’t shout like Pidge, but he watched and looked ready. Hunk couldn’t figure out what he was ready for, what he was waiting for, but he was glad he wasn’t around when it finally happened.

        Keith snapped and was booted. It happened one day in the early fall. It was before Hunk had made it to class. Only a couple of students where in early enough to see, or claim to have seen. All of their stories were different, so Hunk suspected no one really had been in the classroom when it happened.

        So, that was Hunks brief stint of glory, dragged kicking and screaming by Keith Kogane, until the very same guy was dragged kicking and screaming out of the school. At least that’s what some people said. Pidge claimed he walked out quietly, but he wouldn’t say how he learned that information. Hunk was pretty sure he had hacked his way into the surveillance system, to be honest. His entire team was going to get themselves kicked out of school at this rate.

        Luckily for him, they wouldn’t have a chance for that to happen.

 

        The night everything changed Pidge was on the roof. Hunk wasn’t sure why he’d ended up on the roof looking for him, but his room just felt so empty without Keith. It wasn’t like he’d seen Keith much even as a roommate for those two months they lived together. Keith spent every waking out in the simulator or the gym or somewhere doing something. He came back and collapsed into bed, or showered on a good night. He’d asked around and while Keith was always a workacholic, he’d at least been awkwardly polite according to his previous roommates, if a bit standoffish. Senior year got to some people. Apparently, it had hit Keith really hard. Or whatever was going on with the Kerboros Mission did.

        So, Hunk found himself searching for Pidge and, against all of his better judgement, bringing some snacks up to the roof. The guy was just sitting there, eyes closed, listening intently to his headphones. He honestly didn’t mean to startle him, but when he offered shoved the granola bar in front of him, his eyes shot open and he yelped. He smacked the bar away as if it were poisoned.

         “Geez! Are you allergic or something?” Hunk asked, surprised at the harsh reaction. Pidge had yanked his headphones down and stared, wide eyed at Hunk for just a split second. Then he was scowling again.

         “What are you doing up here?” he asked.

         “Oh, yeah, sure, yeah. _I’m_ the one that has to answer that. Not the guy with the weird antenna and dish set up, zoning out to alien jams,” Hunk replied, a bit irritated. Did Pidge really think he got to judge anyone? Really?

         “Whatever, I’ve been getting some really intense signals,” Pidge said, not seeming to mind Hunk’s sarcasm. Hunk had started creeping near the weird machine.

         “Like what?” he asked distractedly. His hand reached out towards the rotating disk and Pidge’s snapped out like a viper to smack it. He pouted and pulled his hand back.

         “It’s been lighting up all night. Something about a ‘Voltron’. I’ve heard it before, but I don’t know what it means,” Pidge said. “And-Hunk! Don’t touch my tech!” he interrupted himself to shout as Hunk’s hand crept back towards the equipment he had set up on the roof. Hunk was just about to complain when something caught in the corner of their eyes. They both shot around at the same time to see the streak shooting across the sky and landing just off school grounds.

         “What the heck was that?” Hunk asked.

         “I don’t know… but I’m gonna go find out,” Pidge said solidly.

         “You’re gonna what? You-,” Hunk stopped as the overhead speakers started to blare, alerting the students that they were on lockdown until further notice and to return to their rooms “Okay, see? You have to go back to your room,” he said, thinking the argument was over. It was not.

         “No, I’m sneaking out,” Pidge said, and before Hunk could argue he went on, “and you have to come with me.”

         “What? Why?” he asked, crossing his arms. He wasn’t going to go breaking out after curfew, especially not with a blaring message explicitly telling him not to.

         “Because what if it’s something heavy and I need to bring it back?” he asked. Hunk stared.

         “Well then tough luck noodle arms,” he replied, when he finally got over how blatantly _used_ he was feeling. He saw how it was. He was only good for carrying things.

         “I’ll show you my secret tech stash,” Pidge said, his glasses catching and glinting as he pushed them up his nose. Hunk’s eyes narrowed, mostly to cover his interest.

         “What tech stash?” he asked, cautiously. Pidge smirked. Damn. He was too obvious.

         “Oh nothing, just all the spare parts I’ve collected from the Garrison’s experimental new ships,” Pidge said with a shrug, turning about to head off the roof.

         “Woah! What?” Hunk asked, scampering after Pidge. “How did you get your hands on stuff like that?” he asked, his voice dropping suddenly from a near yell to a whisper mid sentence when Pidge heedlessly opened the door off the roof.

         “That sounds like questions that get answered on the way to where that thing landed,” Pidge said back over his shoulder. Hunk glared, but it was no good.

         “Fine!” he said in a harsh whisper. “But if we get caught I’m blaming everything on you,” he informed.

         “Yeah, that’s going to go over real well. I totally overpowered you, the big scary 5 foot, 90 pound freshmen,” Pidge muttered with a laugh to himself. Hunk groaned quietly, but he accepted that he was doomed. He wasn’t sure how he would be seeing Pidge’s stash when they were both expelled, but it was too late for questions. They were breaking out of the Garrison during a lockdown. This was happening.

 

 

        It didn’t take long to make it to the landing point. Which was surprising considering how little Pidge’s legs were. The kid could book it when he was determined, though, and he had the sort of fervor that usually only showed up when the Kerberos Mission was mentioned. For as fast as Pidge’s little legs carried him, they still didn’t make it to the sight before the Garrison did. Really that shouldn’t have surprised them, seeing as how they had cars and such, though.

        Hunk stopped behind a ridge to look at the scene going on right where they’d predicted the landing would be. A large pop up tent facility was already set up, blocking their view of whatever had come down. Officers were bustling about, looking like they were doing important stuff. Pidge popped up next to him for just a moment before sliding back down the ledge and disappearing from Hunk’s periphery.

         “Whelp, it seems like they’ve got everything under control here,” Hunk said.

         “Hold on,” Pidge replied. He turned around to find him with his computer on his lap, typing away like a madman.

         “What are you-,” he began, but Pidge cut him off.

         “I’m in,” Pidge announced with a pleased grin up at him, glasses glinting and hiding his eyes in the darkness. It made him look like some sort of super hacker. Turns out, that wasn’t too far from the truth, because when Hunk walked around to see what he was ‘in’, it turned out to be the camera feed into the tent.

         “Woah!” Hunk said, then snapped his mouth shut and squatted down next to him. “How’d you do that? Wait, what’s that on the table?” he asked.

         “It’s a person,” Pidge said. One of the biohaz, gowned up guys stepped out of the way enough for them to actually see who it was strapped down onto the table in a makeshift operating room set up in the tent.

         “It’s Takahashi Shirogane,” Pidge said, beating Hunk to the punch. Everyone knew Shirogane. The guy was a legend. The question was…

         “What is he doing strapped to a table? Is he hurt?” Hunk asked.

         “It looks like he’s trying to get up. There’s no sound to hack into,” Pidge said with frustration.

         “What are they doing?” Hunk asked. It looked like he was struggling against restraints as they neared.

         “I don’t know, but we gotta get in there,” Pidge said.

         “And do what?” Hunk asked, incredulously. He stared at Pidge and the kid stared right back at him, jaw set, eyes unfaltering. He was serious. “You can’t be serious…”

         “We can’t just do _nothing_ ,” Pidge said.

         “Is this about your whole Kerberos Mission thing?” Hunk asked. “Could you at least explain to me why everyone is so intense about that? You and Keith-,” Hunk was startled out of his questions by a loud echoing boom. His head shot around just in time to see the next three explosions blossom up a mile or so outside the spontaneous Garrison encampment.

         “Holy hell,” Hunk said, rushing to the ridge to get a better look as the whole encampment mobilized in an instant, rushing towards he explosions. “Pidge, something just blew up,” he started to explain but Pidge was still at the computer.

         “Someone just broke in! He’s got like a face mask and he just roundhouse kicked some guy like fucking Chuck Norris,” Pidge informed, staring at the screen.

         “What?” Hunk rushed back over, and lo and behold, there was some ninja in red, beating up the gowned up Garrison officers with his bare hands and a giant knife. “What?” he repeated. The guy bust open Shirogane’s restraints and grabbed him, dragging him off the table. He flopped over like a wet noodle. They must have sedated him while Hunk wasn’t looking. The red ninja faltered a little, since the ace pilot was just a giant mass of muscle and the ninja looked about half his weight.

         “What is going on?” Pidge asked in a harsh whisper.

         “Ninja,” Hunk burst back. The look he received for the comment got him feeling defensive. “What?” he hissed. “You saw the guy!”

         “He’s coming out,” Pidge warned, as he watched the mystery man disappear from the camera view, dragging Shiro with him, clumsily.

         “We gotta…” Hunk trailed off. He wasn’t sure what he was about to suggest. Help the stranger rescue an unconscious national hero? Stop this ninja dude from kidnapping Takashi Shirogane?

         “We’ve got to save him,” Pidge agreed, without waiting for him to finish his words. Hunk swallowed. This was insane, but Pidge was stuffing his computer back into his backpack and looking nervous, determined, but nervous. Hunk realized he had to take lead.

         “I guess so,” he said and rolled over the ledge. He slid haphazardly down towards the sand skimmer that the unconscious pilot was being dragged onto. Pidge followed after.

         “Hey!” Hunk called when he hit the bottom with a stumble. The ninja dude shoved Shiro onto the skimmer and spun around, knife in hand. Hunk skid to a stop, hands shooting up.

         “Hold on!” he cried, as Pidge slid right into his back. Luckily the guy didn’t weigh anything so he wasn’t sent flying toward the knife pointed on him. The guy’s eyes fluttered then he tore the red bandana over his face down.

         “Hunk?” Keith asked. Then, leaning a bit to the side to see around him, added, “Pidge?”

         “What are you doing?” Hunk asked, with no time to be confused as to why Keith was a ninja.

         “Saving Shiro,” he replied, straight forward as ever. Hunk should have figured.

         “I mean, were those bombs you and-,” he was cut off by Keith’s eyes darting towards where the explosions had been and back.

         “I don’t have time. Get yourselves out of here,” he ordered and proceeded to jump onto the skimmer.

         “We’re coming with you!” Pidge said, climbing up behind where Shirogane had been tossed

         “We are?” Hunk asked. Pidge just stared at him as Keith was starting up the hovering vehicle. He restrained his groan, because what else was he going to do? Trudge back to the base alone, and probably get caught anyway? “Yeah, we’re coming with you,” Hunk agreed. He crawled up onto the back of the skimmer and it nearly tipped over. Keith didn’t complain, he just handed off Shiro to their care and adjusted for Hunk’s weight on the tail.

        Then they were off. Hunk remembered everything he hated about piloting with Keith in an instant when he sped off like a mad man. They were spotted, but were left with just enough of a lead to keep ahead.

        Hunk was pretty sure no one was listening to him talk, but in all seriousness, they _were_ gaining on them and that _was_ Professor Montgomery who just crashed. He still leaned left when he was told to lean left, interrupting his running commentary, even though it made his gut twist, adding to his nausea. Not nearly as badly as when Keith threw them off a _cliff_ though!

 

        Somehow, _somehow_ , they were alive and unpursued by the time they rolled up to a little cinderblock house in the middle of the desert. Hunk wasn’t sure _where_ they were anymore. He helped Keith lug Shiro into the little house and lay him out on a couch, after he’d puked from the ride.

        Keith hid his skimmer, Pidge poked around the little one room house, and Hunk… Hunk sat down. There was a rocker on the tiny little porch and he fell into it, trying to figure out how he’d gone from ‘nice guy just bringing his teammate a little midnight snack’ to ‘fugitive from the law, accomplice of a hacker and a ninja’. He figured he needed some food, to replace what he’d puked, and some sleep before he could figure all that out, though.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I love writing for Hunk because he's the most reasonable, normal one of the whole squad. Like, he's just trying to live his life, why is everyone so intense! Eat some bread and calm down, like gd!
> 
> **Next Chapter Preview** : Let's Rewind for a sec here...


	2. Motives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Linear story telling? Pssssh, naaaah!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this AU, but it's all in snippits so I appolize that this is coming out so slowly.
> 
> But let me know how you're feeling about this one! I might try to outline it properly make this a full story if people are into it!

        The Altean Fleet Academy would never kick him out, no matter how bad his grades were or how hopeless his simulator scores. When he was younger this would have bothered his pride. Maybe in some ways it did even then. He didn’t let that shame get in the way of his progress though. He abused his privilege without hesitation. Every moment of training was a step closer to usefulness. A step closer to war.

        Alfor was kind, as far as fathers who had to save the galaxy went. When they were young he’d encouraged Lance to dream frivolously. Now, his father quietly whispered for him to come home and do something more practical. To come home before the Fleet was desperate enough to send him. Lance pretended to hear him out, but they both knew he would have to be dragged from the Fleet Academy by force or a royal decree.

        Lance hadn’t gone to the academy completely on a whim. It hadn’t been reckless teenage rebellion either, despite the general assumptions of dignitaries. It wasn’t even entirely for the excitement and glory of battle, though he wouldn’t pretend that wasn’t a factor. It was to be seen.

        Trying to explain this motive was useless in most cases and Lance knew he was the worst person to present it. People always assumed he meant he wanted to be a celebrity at the school. It was a perk, of course, to be the king’s son, Prince of Altea, where there wasn’t much in the way of royal lineage outside of command programs. That sort of fame would have required skills more like his father’s. Alfor had the natural talents of a prodigy and used them to be reckless and remarkable. Lance was the sort of talent gained through fervor and training. The stubborn pride, at least, had been a trait passed from his father to him.

        In truth, he wanted to be _seen_ doing what everyone else had to. He wanted to be doing what they were asking the people to do; to fight for their freedom, and for their kin. If he got to be on a few more brochures for the academy in the process, he wouldn’t put away his dazzling smile for the occasion. That was the reason he tried to explain to everyone. Alfor might have fought on the front lines, but that was in the Red Lion. He was the flag ship, a banner, an unbreakable machine from another world. Lance wasn’t that astounding. Lance was just a fighter pilot, like all the rest of them. Allura, if no one else, saw the benefit. Occasionally she even explained it well enough for people to agree it was sensible.

        Lance felt a swell of smugness whenever Allura or he could explain his motives well enough to get compliments. He always had the perfect promotional poster to show as soon as his morale boosting plan was explained. He looked very good in the picture, half turned back around as if waiting to be joined by his classmates, or even the viewer if they were a young prospect looking to lend their aid to the war effort. He loved to show the picture, and drank the compliments in as fast as they came.

        It was moments like these, though, that somehow the other reason he’d gone felt the most pronounced. When he was selling his sensible reason so hard, he felt like it was more of a lie than it really was. There was certainly some truth to it. Yet somewhere in a small corner of his mind, Lance knew there was more. There was a need to live or die by his own efforts. There was a force that he did not so much drive, as tried to keep his feet under him as it dragged him relentlessly towards _usefulness_.

        He never talked about that insistent drag. It felt too personal, even if he prettied up the words. He didn’t think he could talk about it without it feeling raw and exposing something he wasn’t sure even he’d fully excavated yet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see all of it, really. When more of it crawled up out of that corner of his brain than he intended, it felt like something too true. It felt like he was running towards something he couldn’t ever reach, not it time, not before the end. All he could do was keep running.

        It came before he’d gotten there, to whatever imaginary goal he’d set. It happened and he still didn’t quite have his feet under him.

 

        The day the Academy was destroyed the Red Lion came for him. It tore through time and space and steel and stone for him. His father stood like a pillar as the world crumbled around Lance. He reached for him and Lance tried to say no. He tried to say, “Find the others. Find the useful ones,” but his father wasn’t moved, and Lance’s pleas were lost in sobs.

         “Lance.”

        It was all he said. It felt soft, even though he must have been shouting if Lance could hear him over the building coming down around them. He stood in the shadow of his lion’s mouth, one arm wound around a tooth, the other reaching out for him. The world shook and the sound of Galra cannon fire was seared into his memory. It was so close.

        Lance scraped himself up to his feet, feeling all limbs and no grace. His father stood, unmoved by the danger closing in around them. Their hands clasped together and he felt himself hoisted forward as the floor fell out from under him. He felt like he weighed nothing. It matched the numbness seeping into him. The mouth closed and the world was shut out sharply.

         “Adis! Chemmi!” Lance burst as soon as the stillness stopped being overwhelming and he could breathe again. He felt dizzy and confused as he spoke, but he reached down and yanked the words out of his lungs by force. “We have to get them! They would be in the secondary cadet’s dining area. That’s—,” he realized his father hadn’t stopped to look back at him. He walked back to his controls. He looked calm and collected, even if Lance had to half run to keep up with him. Being more legs than not never helped him when trying to match his father’s pace.

        Alfor reached the panels and sat down. Lance stood behind him, waiting, breath still haggard. All the nostalgia in the world, standing here like he had as a child, couldn’t overtake the panic rising again in his chest. The controls glowed as soon as his father sat down. The lion already knew what it was doing next, what _they_ were doing next, even if Lance didn’t. Of course, it already knew what it’s paladin needed. He remembered being in awe of that connection, and the sleek beautiful controls. He remembered being a child and riding on his father’s lap through space. He remembered seeing his father save the galaxy time and again.

         “Father.”

        He knew it was too late as soon as the red paladin’s hands touched the panel. His eyes darted up to the view screen and saw the portal open. He turned, shoving off the seat. His feet moved in a haphazard jumble under him as he threw himself back towards the mouth. He felt the jerk of them lifting off and still he threw himself at those teeth. They were barred shut. He hit the emergency release, but it flashed red then blinked out. He slammed his fist on the button again and again.

         “OPEN YOU STUPID LION! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE! I CAN’T JUST LEAVE THEM!” he was thrown back as the lion launched upward. He slammed against metal and instinctively grabbed hold of whatever he could to stay in place until the familiar soft twisting in his gut signified they’d come out of the other side of the wormhole.

        No other lions came to the academy. No other cadets left.

 

        It was Allura who dragged him out of the Lion. Alfor had given up when Lance had thrown himself into the pilot seat and started jerking at the controls.

         “Take me back. You stupid lion! You know we should go back!” Lance didn’t bother trying to argue with his father. That was a lost cause. The Lion should have known better though. The Lion should have let him out to get his friends.

        Allura had picked him up, wrapping her strong arms around him, and carried him out. She’d always been stronger. Lance sobbed into her as he was carried away, but her breath was even as ever, her eyes clear. She’d always been stronger than him.

 

         “Tell father he needs to go back,” Lance demanded as soon as he was set down. She let him go before entering the command room. He ignored the sirens blaring from inside. She only half turned back to him.

         “There’s no time. He already lost time getting you,” Allura said softly. Lost time. She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean it like that but Lance’s eyes pricked and he gritted his teeth.

         “Tell him to go back.”

        Allura turned, her eyes as hard as Alfor’s. “He has to stay here. We _need_ him here, Lance,” she informed sternly.

         “Then let me go!” They didn’t need him here. He took in a sharp breath to speak again before he could even acknowledge the sad look in her eyes. “I know you don’t think I can! I know! But I have to do _something_.” He looked Allura in the eyes, pleading, “ _We_ have to do something.”

        She wavered. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit into it, her eyes fire and water all at once. Finally, he could see that tears there hidden by determination. She grabbed Lance’s wrist and dragged him into the main deck of the castle. They were enveloped by the alarms, the cacophony of war, and Coran translating all the flashing screens into grim and urgent damage reports.

         “Father,” Allura started, but she didn’t get any further, or any more than a glance. Alfor’s attention was snapped back to the view screen as soon as a communication cut through on the top priority channel, something only a Paladin could do. Or ex-paladin with the right clearance codes.

        Zarcon's face appeared, huge and imposing over the screen.

        "Your fleet has been destroyed, Alfor. I will be there shortly to claim Voltron."

        The communication cut off sharply, replaced by the view of battle again. The purple glow lit up the screen as another powerful shot hit them, shaking the Castle of Lions.

        Lance grasped Allura's arm, yanking her back from the sparks that flew from the consoles. She barely shifted, unmoved by the danger. She had shut out the chaos around her in a way Lance had always admired. In hectic moments, her focus narrowed, cutting away the distractions until it was just what was important. Lance couldn’t get Coran shouting battle updates and alarms out of his head enough to think.

        "Father. We must quickly form Voltron, before it's too late," she stated evenly. Even as the world burning around her, she was steady. Their father looked grim and her hand fell over Lance's on her arm. He was squeezing it. He hadn't even realized.

        "It's already too late. We must send the lions away," Alfor responded, a stone against the rushing tides, like his daughter. "We can't risk them falling into Zarkon's hands."

        "We can't give up hope!" Allura shouted the words before Lance could clear the lump out of his throat. What was his father saying? It wasn't like they were going to lose! It wasn't like Voltron even could lose.

        Alfor walked from the main controls to the pair of them, never wavering once as he brought his hand to Allura’s cheek.

        "I'm sorry daughter," he said, with an affection that seemed out of place in the midst of battle and death and sparks. "If all goes well I will see you again soon," he assured. A flash caught Lance's eye and he felt the strength leave the arm he was clutching.

        "Lance," his father said looking to him, as Allura wobbled on her feet. Lance wrapped arms around her. She reached out for her father as she sunk back into his arms.

        "I love you," he assured her as her eyes fluttered closed. Lance stared.

        "Father," Lance breathed after a long moment of silence. "We _do_ have to fight," he clung to his sister in his arms as the weight of her fell onto him.

        "We have to do what is best for the galaxy," he replied. He reached forward and took her out of Lance's arms, carrying her carefully to one of the healing pods.

        "Coran, I need you to stay with Allura," Alfor was saying, and the orange haired man was nodding dutifully, even if there was a heavy question hanging in the air.

        "Won't you need my help, sir?" he asked.

        Lance couldn't hear the response. Another shot rocked the castle and he felt like his ears were buzzing, but it wasn't from the blaring noise around him or the reports flying in from every intercom. It was from him, just his own head buzzing and he felt himself moving and he wasn't sure what he was doing until he heard his name snapped above everything else.

        "Lance! What are you doing?" Alfor cried after him.

        He was running. He was on his feet and he was just going. Something had to be done. He had to help his friends. He had to help everyone! His sister was right. His sister was always right. They HAD to fight. Who was going to fight if not them? Who could stand a chance if Voltron couldn't? Even if Zarkon still had the damn black bayard! It didn't matter. They _had_ to fight.

        "LANCE!" Alfor shouted after him, just as another shot hit. Lance had just gotten out into the hallway and he was thrown down it instead of running, the gravity system shuttering with everything else, as the castle took hit after hit. He scrambled back to his feet and kept going. He had to get to a lion. He wasn't a paladin, sure, but he could get one to fly. Not his father's, maybe, but one of them.

        Lance wasn't vain, but Blue had always matched his eye’s perfectly, and that had to be destiny. He was as sure of that as he was of anything else at this moment. That and the Black Lion hadn’t even let him in a fifty foot radius when he had run by.

        "Son! Come back here!" Alfor's voice boomed over the PA system, cutting over alarms and reports alike.

        He ignored it. He ran. He found Blue waiting there, mouth open and ready for her paladin. She got Lance instead. He rushed up and launched himself into the pilot’s seat.

        "Okay, let’s go Blue!" he shouted. In here the sirens were dulled to barely audible. The silence was almost eerie in comparison. He stared at the console. His father had always just gripped the controls and his lion would roar to life. Lance waited. The silence started to sink into him. He felt nausea creeping in to the pit in his stomach.

        "BLUE!" He shouted, just as Alfor's face flickered onto a screen at his right.

        "Come back to the main deck. There isn't time to waste." Waste.

        Lance ignored him. "Come on...." he muttered in a repeating prayer getting louder and louder until he was just shaking at the controls, shouting it.

        He felt tears streaming down his face and he gave the levers one last jerk, taring his hands back and away.

        "COME ON!" He cried, throwing his hands down on the blank screens in front of him so hard he could feel where the bruises would form. "MOVE YOU QUIZNACKING LION!" he demanded.

        Every screen around him suddenly lit up and Lance flung himself back into the seat, away from his screen, startled.

        "Blue!" he breathed, ecstatic for one brief moment before Alfor's voice reached him.

        "The Blue Lion will take you with it into hiding, my son," his voice was soft, as soft as Lance could ever remember it. As soft as if he were comforting him after a nightmare. Maybe that's what this was. Maybe he'd wake up and wish he wasn't too old to sneak into Allura's room and into bed with her. She always had better stuffed animals and she didn't even sleep with them anymore. He’d be five and she’d let him pick any one he wanted off her shelf and bring it with him. He’d pick the biggest one, a lion with a giant, blazing red mane. And it would protect them both.

        Lance felt his vision blur for a moment. He was confused until he recognized the sensation. It was like the healing pods. It felt right that Blue would have a healing chamber in the cockpit. Blue was caring like that. It fit her personality perfectly.

        He felt himself fading.

        "I will see you both soon," he promised, losing his qualifier 'if all goes well' but his voice sounded less certain. Lance couldn't stay awake long enough to contemplate it. He fell back into the seat even as Blue's diagnostics blinked across the screen and she woke up, a course laid in, shields up, destination loading. He wished he were awake enough to read where he was being sent, but he couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Next Chapter Preview** : The Prince awakes! And he swears he totally knows what he's doing!


	3. Waking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Just 5 more minutes Blue......_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but here's a bit more to this AU.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!! ♥

        Lance groaned. _No one_ was supposed to sleep in a chair for… however long he’d been out. He felt like the seat had started to grow around him, absorbing him into it. He groggily tried to pry himself free but could barely get an arm up. It was never this bad in the pods in the Castle of Lions, but Blue’s cockpit wasn’t a tiny hermetically sealed chamber with the sole purpose of healing either.

         “Blue,” he said, complained really. She hadn’t had to put him to sleep, it wasn’t like he could have done anything if she had just locked the cockpit doors.

        Lance forced his eyes open just a slit. It was all he could manage, and even then they fell back closed a moment later. The screens seemed to be flickering alive in front of him. The only thing that managed to get through the slosh of his brain was the bright red note that the shields were lowering. A wave of sleep overcame any reasonable worry that tried to power up his brain. The thought felt very calm in his head, ‘I have no shields. The Galra could attack…’ Then he drifted back out of consciousness.

 

        He thought he was waking up, but instead of opening his eyes to the cockpit around him he saw pitch black space and far off pin pricks of stars. Through it, cut a streak of blue. Then green, red, yellow, and white. He’d recognize the formation of Voltron anywhere, he’d watched it all his life with pride, knowing his father was going to make the universe a safer place. This time it was different, though, it felt different. He was being dragged along with it, into it. Instead of being a spectator he was a part of it.

        The realization gave him a jolt of adrenaline, jogging his brain awake. He was still stuck to the chair, but this time his will to wake was greater than the desire to sleep. Paladins of Voltron weren’t defeated by _chairs_ and grogginess.

         ‘This time for real,’ Lance insisted. It was now or never. He was getting up from the longest nap of his life. He forced his eyes to snap open, tearing his limbs off the chair. He did it like ripping off a band aid, all in one go.

        The young man hovering over him leapt back just in time to avoid their faces crashing together, but not quick enough to avoid scaring the shit out of Lance. He leapt into action, or tried to.

         “Who are you!” he croaked, with no princely authority coming through the rasp. He stumbled when he tried to launch himself at his assailant and was forced to instead grab onto him, nearly pulling them both down in the process. His wrists were snatched almost as soon as they landed on the stranger and he was spun around, arm twisted behind his back. He tried to move but the sharp pain in his shoulder made it clear he was in a solid lock.

         “Keith!” A deep, scolding tone snipped and in an instant Lance’s arms were released. He spun around, slipping into a defensive stance Coran had once shown him along with a story of illegal backroom brawls and a promise never to use these techniques for nefarious purposes.

         “He attacked me!” the dark-haired guy insisted, throwing a hand out in an exasperated gesture towards Lance. He didn’t like ‘Keith’.

         “Dude, he like fell on you,” another voice piped up from behind. He turned to find three more people in the doorway. There was a big guy in yellow, a little one in green, and a soldier looking guy in black. The Yellow guy offered out his hand.

         “Hey, I’m Hunk,” he said conversationally. Lance decided he liked Hunk. _This_ was how you greeted someone. He supposed a bow would be more appropriate for a prince really, but he never was into all that formality anyway. Lance sent a glare back towards Keith, who threw up his hands like _he_ had any right to be offended, and then turned back to Hunk with a smile. They clasped hands like they were on the verge of a secret handshake just waiting to happen. Yeah, he liked Hunk.

         “That’s Pidge,” he said waving behind Lance. He only then realized the smallest intruder had snuck behind him and was flitting around the cockpit muttering excitedly to themself. “Keith’s the one who tried to pull your arm out of its socket. Don’t worry, he’s not as scary as he seems,” he added. Keith huffed.

         “Oh, please. If I wasn’t coming out of stasis I would have had no problem taking him out,” Lance scoffed on principle. Keith seemed to want to say something, but he didn’t get it in before Hunk went on, “Oh and this is Takashi Shirogane.”

         “Shiro,” the last intruder simplified, stepping up to offer a hand. He had a streak of white in his hair and a scar that was unreasonably cool looking. He even had a high-tech robo-arm that Lance had never seen anything like before. It almost looked Galra, but these people didn’t. They could have passed for Altaens, if their ears weren’t so stunted and they had a little color on their faces.

         “I’m Prince Lance of Altea, son of Alfor, King of Altea,” he said as he shook the cool robo-hand, mustering up all his princely charm for his introduction. Shiro blinked, clearly taken off guard. He heard a quiet ‘whaaaat’ coming from Hunk. Lance glanced down at himself. Admittedly, he had looked more princely in his day. He was still in his Academy casual wear, not even his proper regalia, let alone actual Altean Royal garb. The distressed look from collapsing buildings and sparking consoles only added to his scruffy appearance.

        Lance cleared his throat and tugged at his informal attire as if that would take out the creases. “What’s the date?” he decided to get right down to business. Lance could tell he’d been out for at least a day. He thought maybe even a couple from how formed into the chair he had been. He resisted the urge to crack every joint in his body.

         “Uh… the 4th,” Hunk offered. Lance frowned.

         “Nonono, the interstellar date,” he corrected, wondering what sort of quiznacking backwater planet doesn’t use the interstellar standard date. He wondered how far Blue had taken him.

         “Uh?” the intruders looked to each other at a loss.

         “What galaxy is this even?” Lance said, starting to worry getting back might be more complicated than he thought.

         “The Milkyway?” Hunk offered, but he seemed unsure. That wasn’t promising.

         “The… what?” Lance shook his head and turns to the main controls, shooing Keith away. Lance doesn’t care. “Blue, how long was I asleep?” he asked. The screen lit up instantly with a ridiculous number. So, maybe Blue wasn’t the best listener, “That’s ridiculous,” he muttered to himself, “Just give me the date,” he said, sitting down to see if she’d listen to him at all.

        Shiro cut in, then, with a date. A ridiculous date. Lance was about to laugh at him, but he turned and the guy looked so serious. He looked back at that number on the screen, how long it said he’d been sleeping. He paled. Shiro seemed to notice his distress and started adding disclaimers to his words, “At least close to, I think. My, uh, memory is still hazy. That might have been a few rotations ago.”

         “I don’t care about a few _rotations_ ,” Lance broke out, searching for the official date on Blue. “I don’t even care about a few _decafebes_ ,” he insisted. He swiped the date up onto the screen and stared. It matched. _It matched._

        There’s a silence around the cabin until finally it’s Pidge who breaks it. “Have you been in this cave since the lion got here?”

         “Yeah!” he burst back, too panicked to sound graceful.

         “Dude there are carvings from like the Neolithic era about this lion thing,” Hunk noted, his voice somewhere between awed and concerned sounding.

         “It’s been 10,000 years,” Lance said, to himself but the whole room heard it.

         “You’ve been in a cave for 10,000 years?” Keith asked skeptically.

         “Get out,” Lance said bluntly, then turned around, “It was a pleasure to meet you all,” he said to everyone else, “But I have to get back. I have to find out what happened.”

         “Prince Lance…” Shiro said, his voice sounding understanding, but there was a clear objection behind it.

         “I need to know what happened with the war, what happened to my father-What the Galra did,” he said, his voice picking up pace as he remembered the urgency of it all, the world crumbling around him. He had been prepared for bad news and dire situations to be waiting for him, but not… this. He was ready for a war, not to be part of ancient history.

        It wasn’t until he looked back to ask why they were still _here_ that he saw Shiro’s face. His serious expression had gone from concerned to almost pained.

         “The Galra…” he said, “I think they won.” Lance didn’t breathe for a few long seconds. “I think they won, and I think they’re looking for Voltron.” He sounded less sure, his hand went to his head and scraped through his undercut.

         “They couldn’t have won,” Lance said, sharply. He said it with so much force he almost believed it. He grabbed the console. “Look. I’m going to Altea, okay? You guys need to get out. I don’t have time for this.”

         “No,” Keith said, startling not just Lance, but everyone. “Something kidnapped my friend. Something still _has_ the other members of the Kerberos team. You know something. I don’t care if it’s about Voltron or what’s coming for it, but you can’t just leave without answering anything.” Lance wanted to scoff at the demand, but Pidge seemed to have taken up the cause as well.

         “Is this why they’re coming?” Pidge asked, seriously. “I don’t know what sort of stuff the rest of the galaxy has, but this tech is ridiculous.”

         “Is this Voltron?” Shiro asked.

         “Is this Voltron?!” Lance burst back. His mind reeled to think that anyone in the civilized universe could _not_ know what Voltron was. Then he remembered the date, and how long a fifth of Voltron had been sitting in a cave while the Galra ran rampant.

         “I’m going.” Lance gripped the controls, “I don’t have time to arg-,” Lance cut off as Blue jerked up, lifting her head and closing her mouth. “Blue, I need these guys to leave before-.” It was too late. Everyone suddenly was clinging to the chair, him, or each other as Blue burst out of the cave and into the sky. The cockpit filled suddenly with the screaming of a handful of unprepared aliens being shot into space with him.

        Lance finally got control of the Lion after they’d cleared the planet.

         “Oh, _now_ you’ll listen to me,” he muttered under his breath.

         “Do you even know what you’re doing?” Keith snapped, cautiously letting go of the seat he’d had in a deathgrip a few moments ago.

         “Of course I do! I’m a paladin of Voltron!” he didn’t mention that he’d only been a paladin of Voltron since he woke up a few minutes ago.

         “A what?” he asked.

         “It means I fly the lion, mullet head,” he replied, asking Blue for coordinates and directions home. She obliged easily opening a portal that he knew it led to the Castle of Lions.

         “Mullet what?” Keith’s question was lost to the resounding awe at the sight of the portal appearing in the sky.

        Hold on, guys,” he said, punching it forward faster than he needed to for dramatic effect. Blue clearly wasn’t letting him drop them off anyway. So, first was to get back, then find the other lions, form Voltron, and retake the galaxy from evil clutches. He’d deal with the bumpkins later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a bit of a break from posting my writing, but I have a lot of snippits for all sorts of things, particularly Voltron AUs. Anything you guys want to see first out of: Road Trip AU, Space Station AU, or No Aliens AU?  
> (Should I give pitches for each for you guys???)
> 
> For now! I have another chapter or two to add to this, but not quite a full story arc planned like [Lance of Marmora](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12173379).  
> I might open it up to potential prompts for this AU if people would be interested??? (maybe for Lance of Marmora too).


	4. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Lance makes it back to the castle 10,000 years to late and has some news to break..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be real with you guys this has been sitting like 90% done for way too long, and I haven't even had a chance to finish watching the newest season yet, tho there's already so much.... but I'm not going to worry about all that and just put this out there anyway! WHOO!

        Lance didn’t wait to see if the bumpkins were following. He’d never seen the Castle of Lions look so _settled_. Lichen crawled up the spires from the base where time and earth had swallowed the roots of the castle. It looked at home on the ground, though he’d rarely ever seen it landed before then. It made him uneasy.

        He rushed down the halls in a direct path, his feet sure of every turn in the labyrinth of corridors. He never looked back, only knowing he was being followed by the echoing jumble of footsteps and quiet muttering awe that trailed after him. They made the only noise in the whole castle. It was only echoes and silence. With each moment more, the silence seemed to creep closer, laying heavier on his mind. The contrast from his last time in the castle was too much. It was mere moments ago that these halls were alive with alarms and sirens… but only for him.

        By the time he reached the control room, he was choking on his heartbeat. He didn’t hear them following him anymore. His mind had focused in on his goal, his vision tunneling down to just the next step, the next door, his mind reduced to the essentials. The emergency lights had still headed them off down the halls, so at least he knew there was still life in the Crystal Core. Enough, he hoped, for the cryopods.

        He placed a hand on one orb and the panel flickered dimly to life in front of him. He scanned the pod statuses. A painfully relieved breath tore into his lungs when he saw two listings, occupant status: alive. He slowly let the breath out, his hands moving up to run over his face, then back into his hair. He clenched his fingers, fighting off the fading adrenaline that prickled at his skin. He closed his eyes and let the relief wash over him. _Occupant Status: alive_.

        The chittering of the aliens filtered back to his ears. He looked back around to find them all poking around at the ship like they’d never been on a cruiser before, though he would be the last to say the Castle wasn’t a beautifully crafted vessel. The only one that didn’t seem in shocked awe was Shiro, instead he was focused on Lance.

         “Are you alright?” the alien asked, his voice surprisingly soft, for how authoritative Lance had heard him before. Before Shiro had reminded him of a flight instructor back at the academy, the one who’d been used to knock a sense of duty and honor into first years. Now, looking into his eyes, he saw empathy. If this man had seen a universe where the Galra had won, maybe those scars had stories worth the worry lingering behind his eyes.

        Lance nodded. “I’m good,” he said, surprised to find his voice breathless. Shiro nodded, accepting that. He then looked to the display.

         “Who’s in there?” he asked, nodding to the screen.

         “My sister, at least,” he said, remembering Coran lifting her towards the pods, “And Coran probably…” he muttered, more to himself. Shiro didn’t ask, letting him gnaw on his bottom lip for a moment thinking.

         “All of you,” Lance said, in his best royal voice. It wasn’t as good as some other people in his family, but Pidge and Hunk paused in their attempts to pry a panel off the wall. Even Keith turn, as if he hadn’t been poking around as well. “I expect you to be respectful guests… I have to change,” he said, turning to leave. He turned back around just as quickly, “Don’t wander off!” He said, his finger accusingly scanning the group. None of them seemed particularly responsive so he looked to Shiro, who nodded dutifully.

 

        At first Lance thought it was ridiculous to even consider changing before waking Allura up. Then he considered how panicked she’d be to see him, still dusty and war torn, and remembered the shock he’d had learning the news. He didn’t want her to go through that. It’d been 10,000 years after all, another few ticks couldn’t hurt.

        Lance found the royal family suites in no time. He burst in hoping he’d left something _decent_ looking from the last time he’d attended a diplomatic dinner in the Castle. He scrubbed his face and restored his hair as best he could without the shower he desperately needed. He didn’t trust leaving the aliens unattended too long, even if the one-armed guy seemed like he’d keep the other’s in check.

        The outfit he found wasn’t his favorite. It was green and white, trimmed with subtle gold accents. It did nothing for his eyes, it didn’t make him pop very well. It fit and was clean, which really should have been good enough given the circumstance. Lance still grimaced at it and dug deeper through the closet for something appropriate and _blue_. It felt important it was _blue_. Eventually he found it. It was blue and white with silver accents, cut just right to make his shoulders look amazing, and the blue was just enough to remind you how blue his eyes and cheeks were, without distracting from either. It was perfect, and it was crumpled up in the mound of other discarded items, creases so sharp from millennia crushed into dirty laundry that he wasn’t sure even a washing could get them out.

        Lance sighed dramatically, even if only he was there to hear it. He didn’t have time to wash and press his dress clothes. Allura had slept for millennia, like him, but he still felt the need to hurry back now that he was awake. Little did he know the aliens didn’t need a shower’s worth of time to get into trouble.

 

        Keith glanced from the display to the edge of the room, then back. The screen indicated pods, or something, across the room. Inspecting where they should have been, he noticed a set of circles along the far side of the room. He walked along their path, matching them to the display on the screen, stopping at the highlighted ones. He didn’t notice any differences visually.

        Shiro was doing his best to keep Hunk and Pidge from literally pulling apart the castle, shooing them away from the panel they’d pried off the wall. He watched Pidge skitter away as Hunk stood and accepted his reprimand sheepishly. He looked back to the circled on the floor.

         “Hey… do you think-?” Keith started to ask, looking back to the rest of the group. Pidge cut him off, already at the control panel.

         “Let’s find out!” she said, no compunction at fiddling with the controls she certainly couldn’t understand yet.

        Keith leapt back as the floor lifted, each circle raising with a pod underneath. The one nearest to him was fogged over. He leaned in to see if he could make out anything past the frosty coating. He jerked away when a mechanical whirling started and backed off cautiously at the sharp pop of a seal. The door rushed open, a burst of cold cloudiness dissipating into the room from inside.

        Keith watched cautiously as a woman formed out of the mist, dark skinned with stark white hair, in a gown. Forming out of the haze made her look unearthly, which Keith supposed she _was_. She had the same pointed ears and check marks on her cheeks as the Space Prince.

        She muttered something dizzily, reaching out, trying to take a step. Keith was almost too busy observing from a safe distance to react in time when her foot faltered under her. He cursed under his breath, diving forward to just barely keep her from smashing face first into the floor. He awkwardly caught her shoulders and pushed her back up to her wobbly feet. She muttered something else, but he was too busy making sure she wasn’t going to just fall over again to listen.

         “I said who ARE YOU!?” the woman’s voice repeated loud and crisp. Before Keith knew what was happening, he’d been thrown around, an arm behind his back, another hand on his ear. “What happened to your ears?” she asked, sounding disgusted. Keith’s mind should have been focusing on breaking the hold but instead indignation rose up in him. First the other one insulted his hair, now his ears?!

        The grip was stronger than her frame suggested, and the hold on his ear limited his options severely. The hand on his arm quivered slightly, still regaining its strength from being in the pod, like her legs a moment ago. He wasn’t sure how long he had before her grip would firm up. He risked it. He straightened, forcing her to stumble back. He moved along the hold on his ear and pulled his other arm sharply to wrench his opposite arm free. His hand instantly darted to the one on his ear. He twisted it at the wrist, forcing her to release his ear.

        The woman was only momentarily thrown off guard. Her other hand shot up to grab the hand on her wrist. She yanked, forcing him to spin around. He was faced with eyes brimming with a fierce anger and determination, ready to protect herself and this ship by all means necessary. Her grip tightened, and for a moment he knew he should go for his knife, but by the time he thought to act, she had already snatched his other wrist with an inhuman strength.

        Keith’s mind raced, searching for the best way to break free. He was considering throwing the alien over himself entirely and hoping that would force her to let go. Or he’d have to kick her… His thoughts were cut off by the door to the room sliding open.

 

         “WOAH!” Lance’s voice cut in as he went from casually entering the room to dashing across it at the scene before him. “Allura! It’s okay!” he insisted, worried his sister was about ready to pop this poor alien’s arms right out of their sockets.

        Keith was dropped. He caught himself and turned around sharply, moving into a defensive stance. He was ignored, in favor of the Prince’s return.

         “Lance!” the woman cried, suddenly looking taller than a moment ago as she gathered Lance up in her arms and tucked him under her chin. She squeezed tightly, causing Lance to wheeze, but he didn’t let go until she did.

         “Where’s father?” she asked, pushing him back to an arm’s length, suddenly all business.

        Lance hesitated.

         “Where’s Voltron?” She asked more urgently, letting go of Lance and rushing to the panel. The second she touched it, the whole room lit up bright and beautifully. Lance had only tapped into emergency power functions. The room filled with muttering awe, that was ignored just like Keith.

         “Allura,” Lance rushed after her, turning her away from the display and holding her shoulders steady for a second as she tried to turn back around. Then he was at a loss for words. He’d meant to take a moment to plan this, but damn Keith had to go and open up the pods before he had a chance to practice any of it. She seemed to gleam something was wrong just from his expression.

         “Lance… what’s happened?” she asked, her voice steady.

         “We were put to sleep…” he started.

         “Yes, for how long? How many days?” she asked.

         “Years,” Lance corrected, and cleared his throat before she could ask the next obvious question, “10,000.”

         “What?!” she asked, breaking away sharply to check the display. She pulled the date. “No…” she breathed.

         “It… I think… the Galra won,” he said, glancing at Shiro who nodded solemnly.

         “Then they have Voltron.” Her voice was defeated, quiet.

         “No!” Lance said, his voice picking up. “No! Not all of Voltron. Not the Blue Lion.” She looked to him, hope back in his eyes. She grabbed his hand.

         “Tell me everything that happened since I went to sleep!” she demanded. Lance realized she expected him to have answers, and he wished he did.

         “I was only awake a few more dobashes than you,” he informed. “I ran to try to get to a lion before Father could send them all away, but I ended up being sent off,” he said, quietly. “I was put to sleep before I even got to the destination. I only woke up and just made my way back here from some backoctant planet,” he informed.

         “Hey…” he could hear Hunk say in a quietly offended sort of tone.

         “Look at this Tech, Hunk,” Pidge quipped, “we ARE a backoctant planet if this is what the rest of the universe has.”

         “How did you get back here?” she asked, and Lance realized she’d assumed he’d been sent off in an escape pod. A childish excitement rushed through him at realizing he got to tell her _exactly_ how he got back.

         “I flew,” he said, a smug smile pulling over his face.

         “Oh, you obtained a ship! Good.” She nodded.

         “Yeah. It’s called the BLUE LION,” he announced, his hands going to his hip as he struck a cool pose for the announcement.

         “You have the Blue Lion!” She looked delighted. Lance was ready to bath in her praise. Yes, he was a Paladin of Voltron. He was always destined for greatness. Before he could get too smug, she went on, “Great! Who flew it?” She scanned the group, the first time paying them any attention since she discarded Keith earlier. She searched for any that looked Paladin worthy.

         “M-Me!” Lance stammered, losing his cool pose to rush in front of her view. “I did! Because _I’m the Blue Paladin_.”

         “What?” she asked, turning to him, brow furrowed in confusion.

         “I, Prince Lance of Altea, am the Blue Paladin of Voltron and flew the Blue Lion to the Castle of Lions,” he stated, solidly, trying to regain the coolness he felt a moment ago.

         “No,” she said in a half laugh, “but really.” She looked back to the group.

         “Yes really!” he shouted, then realized he was being stared at. He dropped his voice down. “I _did_ fly here. I mean, it opened the portal and stuff but…”

         “Ah, it returned automatically to the castle,” she said, nodding as if that finally made sense.

         “No!” Lance hissed, upset with his own sister selling him short. Sure, he’d shown no promise at piloting any of the lions _before_ , but that was the old Lance. This is the _new_ fresh from the academy, forged of steal Lance. “Is it _that hard_ to believe that I could be a paladin!?” he asked.

        A long pause followed. His eyes widened, and he threw his hands up dramatically. “Well I am! So, deal with it!” he shouted, forgetting to be discreet.

         “You’re serious,” she confirmed, softly shocked.

         “I’m serious,” he repeated in a huff.

         “Lance…” she paused, “that’s amazing!” Her eyes lit up again and she grabbed him, manhandling him almost as rough as the first hug. “What about the other lions?” she asked. “What about Father?”

         “Well! I--…. I don’t know,” he admitted. They shared a quiet moment.

         “Coran!” Lance suddenly said, turning to the display and opening the second pod without hesitation, “I think Coran went to sleep with you. He’ll have answers.” The pod opened moments later, and Coran leapt out.

         “Princess! Look out! Intruders in the castle!” He launched himself an Keith, who sidestepped the hyper sleep disoriented Altaen’s attack.

         “Coran! It’s okay!” Lance and Allura shouted quickly before he attacked anyone else.

         “Prince Lance! You’re back!” he said, turning about. “What’s happened?”

        The royal siblings looked to each other, at a loss. Then Lance turned to Shiro.

         “What can you tell us about the last 10,000 years?” he asked, solemnly.

 

        Shiro filled them in as best he could. His memory was patchy, but it was clear enough a picture for the three Altaen’s. He’d been captured, imprisoned, forced into fighting pits for blood sport. He remembered snippets of grand armadas, war ships, war. If the Galra had captured him from where he’d claimed, their influence had to be huge.

        They learned about the ‘humans’ as well.

        In the end, matching up what information they could gleam from the limited knowledge in the castle’s systems and Shiro’s stories, they were left with few options. They could hide, collect data, and try to piece together history to the present. That was the cautious path. Then again, they had the Blue Lion, as well as the Black locked away until all of them were reunited, and even the coordinates for the other 3…

        In the end, they had both decided their answer long ago. Their father had championed caution, but 10,000 years of caution was enough.

         “We only have one paladin,” Coran reminded the siblings, interrupting their conspiratorial mutterings. His voice was warning, playing the role Alfore had before. His words weren’t absolute like their father’s though.

         “No,” Allura said, her voice resonating in the regal manner Lance had always tried to imitate. The humans all stood suddenly straighter, attentive to her announcement. “Here we have four with brave hearts, who woke my brother and accompanied him here. In them I can already see the talents of paladins.”

         “Whaaaaat?” Lance whined from behind her. “You don’t get to just suddenly _be_ a Paladin.” She turned and gave him a pointed look. “Without being chosen by the lions as worthy,” he tagged on, a reminder that he _had_ been chosen. She looked from the Humans to her brother and pulled him closer.

         “Lance,” she said softly. “Do we have any other options?”

         “Well… _no_ but…”

         “And Zarkon is _still_ alive. Still looking for Votlron. He’s bound to find it eventually if we don’t.”

        Lance looked at them. “Are you sure?”

         “Of course,” she lied, but with such confidence Lance forgave it. He shrugged and threw his hands towards the humans for her to continue. She cleared her throat.

         “As I was saying. We have four worthy candidates here…” She spoke with that same fake confidence. They had no time and no intel to search for others, though. These four would simply have to do.

        The Humans stood up straight and excited at Allura swiped the holograms up around them to pull up each lion, ready to bolster their courage as much as her own.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys have anything in particular you want to see from this AU? Any questions? Any situations you want to see me deal with???  
> Let me know! I'm still deciding where to focus with the rest of this AU
> 
> Thank you for reading and encouraging me to continue this AU too! You're all too good to me ♥


	5. Past to Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering what was and coming to terms with what is, Allura and Lance learn what their place in this new place and time is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's been a while! Sorry for anyone waiting on this one. I've been focusing on [Road Trip AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079651) and it'll continue to be my main priority for the time being (because I love it and have a lot of plans for it). So, please check it out!

         “Allura,” Alfor’s voice was strong. It always was. It didn’t matter what danger they faced, he stood in the midst of it unwavering. He was a pillar for his team and his people to lean on. He could flash a quick smile and it was clear there was a plan, things were under control. He could strike a somber tone and the assembled would know those lost would be remembered. Today his tone was the beginnings of a promise Allura didn’t yet know but was ready to fulfil.

         “Yes, father?” she said without hesitation, straightening her back and waiting for whatever he needed her to do. A warm hand found her shoulder and weighed her down, calming her. He smiled a soft, thankful smile, but it came and went from his lips quickly. His news was too serious for the expression to linger.

         “I have a favor to ask of you.” He paused, putting his hand up before she could agree without even hearing the request. “I know, my daughter. You will do what must be done for peace and victory, but this is a request that goes beyond today.”

         “Go on, then,” she urged, nodding him on so they could get to the point where she _could_ say yes.

         “We lost Blaytz today.”

        A stone lodged itself in Allura’s throat. In an instant every moment that had been improved by the Blue Paladin’s presence flashed before her eyes. When she’d watched him stop a ceremonial procession of Voltron to help an elderly Puigian near fainting in the press of the crowd. The first time she’d gotten tipsy off glasses of Nalquodian wine that he’d passed her discreetly. When he’d held her hand once as Alfor recovered in a healing pod for two whole days…

        Allura nodded, swallowing down her sorrow, jagged and rough in her throat. She didn’t trust her voice to speak yet, so she waited. Her face was stone. If she let it be anything else she knew it would take only moments for it to be nothing but water instead.

        Her father’s hand found her cheek. While most would take her silence at face value, stoic and strong, he knew better. She leaned only a little into the warmth of it, taking strength from him to speak. “He will be remembered.”

         “He will be remembered,” he echoed.  She was already composing the pink outfit she would wear to mourn him and the blazing, bright blue sash she would drape over to show the world who it was she honored. “In the face of our loss, I have come to the decision we need a Keeper.”

         “A what?” Allura blinked.

         “A keeper of the lions. I would like to link your energy to Voltron. Through you their locations, no matter how well hidden, would be revealed. Without you, they would remain masked from prying eyes,” he explained. It sounded fantastical, but her father had many secrets and arts she had yet to master, or even understand as an alchemist.

         “Do we really need such a thing?” She asked, after a few long moments.

         “I have been considering this since Zarkon betrayed us,” he admitted. “The Castle of Lions is able to keep the Black Lion out of his grasp, were he to try and take it by brute force… but if he were to come with all four other lions, I do not think even the castle would be able to hold the black lion away from their call.” His face had gone grim, contemplating a universe where Zarkon had claimed all the limbs of Voltron, and was coming for its head.

         “I would be honored,” she said, solidly. Her father smiled ever so slightly at her determination.

         “Thank you for allowing me to at least ask the question before you answered, my daughter,” he said, his tone soft and teasing.

 

        In the days that followed, when the lions were at the base, he would call for her. Each he wove into her in silent mediations between their energy. He had said it was similar to the inspiration the transdimensional meteor had given him when the pieces of Voltron had been built. It was a conversation too complicated to express. The process showed how great his connection to quintessence really was.

        Allura heard only whispers, only the faint tug of her own quintessence as it was tied, the quiet hum of attunement. Each lion sang differently when they vibrated through her, that much she could tell. None of them spoke to her like a they would a paladin, or like they did her father. The closest, though, was the first.

        Blue might have just been lonely, maybe she was the most giving by nature, or maybe it was the shock of the first time that made it all feel so much sharper to Allura. Regardless of the reason, when Blue’s energy was first connected to hers, she could have sworn she saw a flash of blue soar under her eyelids. Then she finished her blink and it was gone. She was left with just the humming knowledge that they were connected in some small way, a thin, blue thread strung between them. Soon each of the four lions knew her, four strings tethering them to her quintessence.

 

        ~_~_~

 

        The alarm sounded just as Allura was finishing her speech to the humans, claiming to know which lion suited each after just moments of knowing them. Each lion hummed in her head just the faintest bit, though, and she had to trust that instinct. Or maybe it was that they each had such a neat color scheme to their outfits… but what was destiny, but color coordinated strangers? She didn’t have another option at the moment either way.

        She had just gotten to Keith, the grim looking one with dark hair and crossed arms that Lance had taken an instant dislike to. She wasn’t surprised. He was the sort Lance always liked to make an enemy of for the sake of having someone to measure his skills against. And Lance _had_ to have someone to measure his skills against.

        She ignored her brother’s cry of, “Whaaat? This guy?” as the alarms shouted a warning. Coran instantly was at the council, translating the alarm to mean there were warships heading their way. Galra warships…

        There was clamor and Coran did some quick math to conclude they had ‘a few days’ to gather the lions. So, warships or not, their task was still the same, but the pressure was on again. Allura felt oddly relieved. The calmness around her had felt eerie when it was just moments before that she’d been in the middle of a battle. She had lived so long with war and constant impending doom, he alarms were almost a comfort, which should have scared her more than it did, but instead she used it to steel her heart.

        Allura sent her soon to be paladins out to find the lions, or two of them at least, sending pairs out to follow the yellow and green strings. The red string remained hazy even to her. She ignored all her theories on why that might be and focused on the locations she could sense and give to the Castle. She sent four of them off, hoping that this plan came together, and that her brother and these ‘humans’ were up to the challenges that faced them.

        She hadn’t realized when her father linked the lions’ energy to her, that he was laying the foundation for his plan of last resort. Despite how eagerly she’d agreed, she might not have if she’d known how it would be used. She hadn’t known the weight of importance he placed on her shoulders with each Lion he tied to her. She was the key to the future, and that meant she had to survive.

        It wouldn’t have been the choice she’d have made for herself. She would have died fighting alongside her father. She would have fought until they found victory or had died trying. She had to be kept safe, though, and her father had made sure of that. Facing these facts now, she was only more determined to end it once and for all. This time they would fight.

 

 

        Lance quickly decided he’d go with Hunk to get the Yellow Lion. It was only partially because he wanted a chance to show off to someone and Hunk seemed like the quickest to give praise. He also just liked him. He reminded him of his friends at the academy. Plus, the Yellow Lion was in a quiet little corner of the galaxy, so it’d be a quick trip and he could play with Blue a little without his sister or the sulky guy watching.

        Shiro went with Pidge. They were getting the Green Lion. It seemed right, somehow, even if the little human didn’t have the dignity that Trigel had had. Maybe it was because Pidge had already tried reprogramming the castle, twice, before they’d even left. It hit the ‘inventive’ qualification for the Green Lion for sure, despite being a little worrisome. Coran wasn’t bothered by it, so he decided not to be either.

        Mullet was left to wait because Red wasn’t showing her location. It was probably because his father’s lion had better taste in haircuts, but that was just supposition, of course. It could also be because Keith was lying and couldn’t pilot a scoot down a hill. Who could say. He had places to be and a Lion to fly.

 

        Yellow seemed an increasingly good choice for Hunk as he got to know the human. Aside from getting a little queasy now and again, and groaning that _of course_ he was the one dragged out and shot up into space and did Lance know he didn’t even _want_ to go into space? He just wanted to stay on the ground like a normal person and build space ships for _other_ people. And how this was all incredibly unfair, but just his luck! --Well, other than all that, he was rather excited about the Lion itself. For the first time Lance wished he’d paid attention to all those assignments pouring over technical diagrams of ships. None of them would really help in explaining the Lions of Voltron anyway, he supposed. They were something beyond diagrams.

        Hunk seemed equally enthralled with the idea of interdimensional matter. Then he was off on a rant about the physics and theory of the portals the castle generated. Then he looked at Lance, as if he must have understood all the gibberish just because they had a ship that _could_ create ‘wormholes’. Lance didn’t have the heart to tell him he was a lost cause when it came to math and physics. Instead, he just smiled and said, “Yeah, probably something like that.”

        It wasn’t really all the technical stuff that made Lance think Yellow would be a good color for him. It was that he seemed to have decided that Lance and he were friends already. Lance couldn’t agree more, but the way Hunk just threw himself into the friendship, complaining and chattering excitedly like they’d been buddies for ages, that made him feel right.

        It was about then that the alarms on the lions blipped, warning them of a Galra mining team below. A moment later the alarms blipped much louder and more insistently because of the Galra fighters swooping into radar range. Lance took evasive maneuvers and felt himself fall in love a little more at the smooth roll of the Lion.

        Hunk made a horrible noise, but he threw himself at the panel to check the map as Lance piloted them out of danger. He was having a hard time getting Blue to pull up weapon controls, so he stuck with evasion.

         “It looks like the lion is right under us,” Hunk noted, apparently having stilled his stomach enough to speak. “They don’t even know!” he said, then seemed to think, “Or they got here before us and are digging it up…” he pondered.

         “No time to theorize, buddy!” Lance announce, yanking the controls and banking them out of the way of laser fire. Blue swooped. Hunk latched onto the back of his seat and made a sound like he was going to be sick. “No time for puking either!” he tagged on.

         “Can’t. Helpit,” he muttered.

         “Yes, you can!” Lance chimed, encouragingly. “Okay! I’m gonna set you down to get the lion and I’ll draw off the fighters,” he announced.

         “What? No! Nope! I’m not going down there,” he insisted. The argument didn’t last long, because in the end there was nothing else to be done.

        Lance launched Hunk out of the lion’s mouth before spinning around to defend him from the fighters. He was determined to keep his new alien friend safe. A weapons array appeared to his left on the screen and he gave a loud ‘whoop’ of excitement. He was a Paladin of Voltron. He would protect everyone now that he had the power to. He could fix everything now that Blue would listen to him.

        Blue was perfect. She sailed through the sky, ready for anything Lance could think to have her do. They drew off fire, they shot down enemy fighters. They kept the cave Hunk had hoofed it to safe. The only problem was there kept being more and more of the fighters. Lance felt like he was being swarmed. He knew Blue could get out of this, if he knew how to pilot her better. If he’d just had time to learn how to fight with her better.

        Soon, though, Lance was being corralled against cliff walls, escapes cut off as reinforcements arrived. In the end, it was the Yellow Lion that had saved him. The Yellow Lion burst out of the cliff side and smashed through the line of fighters with brute force.

         “Whooo! Allura sure can pick a Paladin!” Lance shouted over the intercom as soon as Yellow appeared on his communication screen.

        If Lance had had any doubts about the human’s ability to pilot the Lions, or their worthiness of the position of Paladin, Hunk’s flying ended that. He might not have had grace, but with the thick hulled Yellow Lion, he just had to get Lance openings, and he did that perfectly. Together they fought their way out of the planet and back to the portal waiting to zap them back to Arus.

 

        As soon as they were off their lions Lance was dashing to find his new fellow paladin. He felt a rush of excitement almost as intense as when he’d realized that Blue was first listening to him and he was a Paladin. Having new teammate felt just as good. Gaining a victory, no matter how small, with a new ally had Lance beaming.

        Allura, Coran, and Keith were already crowding around him before Lance could get there to congratulate and high five him. Lance felt like they were more bonded, though, he deserved his attention first. How dare anyone think they got to congratulate his friend before he got to!

         “Chemmi!” he called, pulling his helmet off hastily. There was no response and he laughed a little as he jogged closer, “Hey Che-,” Lance stopped mid shout. He was suddenly thankful for the clamber going on around the Yellow Paladin, who’s name definitely _wasn’t_ Chemmi.

        He stopped dead in his tracks at the realization of how quickly his brain had tried to replace his friend. It felt like the floor dropped out under his heart, leaving him feeling ill.  He instantly started making excuses. He blamed the hyper-sleep he’d been in, 10,000 years of it couldn’t be good for his head. That was too long dreaming. This was Hunk, this wasn’t Chemmi. Chemmi was… he was dead. Even if he’d somehow escaped the academy, even if he’d survived a lost war, he was dead.

        Lance’s eyes refocused and he checked to see if anyone had noticed him yet. They hadn’t. So, he stuffed his helmet back over his head. No one should see him like this, not wearing the expression he felt bleeding up, sad and ugly over his face.

        Until that moment, something in the back of his brain had been saying ‘fix’. He was the Blue Paladin, so he would ‘fix’ what had happened. But, he couldn’t fix anything that happened so many lifetimes ago. It was done, it was history, and he’d had no say in it. Nothing was going to pop back to normal, not even if he tracked down Zarkon and personally punched him in the face. There was no normal anymore. There never would be again.

 

        Lance still hadn’t pulled off his helmet by the time Pidge and Shiro returned. The Green Lion parked itself in the courtyard to Blue’s left and the two other humans rushed out. Pidge bound over to Hunk and the others, greeted by congratulations and loads of high fives. Hunk grabbed the little human up in an excited hug, which she seemed to begrudgingly accept, and possibly even enjoyed after a stunned second.

        Watching them all share the moment, with even Allura able to share in that excitement, Lance felt the vice on his heart ease a little. Things would never be normal again, he knew. These aliens could never replace the people he had lost-the _universe_ had lost… but they seemed all right. Making new friends didn’t disrespect those people who were gone.

        Lance took a breath.

         “Look at all these new paladins!” he shouted, walking over and pulling his helmet off as if he weren’t late to the party.

        He was met with cheers. It was the level of excitement he needed to lift the weight in the pit of his stomach. This was his team now. This was who he would form Voltron with. This was who he would take the universe back with.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Do I just write this AU for the angst? Why yes, thank you for noticing!~~


End file.
